Of the 31,166 birds harvested in the spring of 2007, a total of 1,187 of them were taken on WMA hunts. Of that figure, Shelby Forest led the WMA count with a total of 154 birds tagged. Land Between The Lakes (LBL) was a distant second with 118 turkeys killed. The Milan Army Ammunition Plant area was third in the WMA total with 104 birds harvested. Rounding out the Top 5 WMA harvests for the spring hunt was Chuck Swan WMA at 94 birds, followed by Chatham Lake WMA with 86 turkeys tagged. Honorable mention has to go to Cheatham WMA with a kill of 75 turkeys and AEDC WMA with a take of 73 birds.

OLD SCHOOL GOBBLER
No matter what it is, you never forget your firsts. My first gobbler came with a blackpowder modern muzzleloading shotgun. It was truly an awesome hunt -- the bird had nice spurs, a long beard and was a heavy rascal. The big tom now sits in all its majesty in my game room, or den if you prefer.

That was a few years back and something that I thought would never be equaled in my turkey-hunting career. Just last season, I had a chance to top that kill or at least equal it on an opening weekend hunt with the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA).

Sunrise couldn’t arrive early enough on Saturday morning, the opening day of the 2007 spring turkey hunt. I wanted nothing more than a shot with a flintlock at a wild turkey. Overnight, I made up my mind, even though I don’t usually take jakes, the chance with a flintlock would be wide open.

There was the additional pressure of knowing I was using the 12-gauge flintlock that NMLRA president Winston Roland had used to win the National Flint Trap Championships five times in a row -- he still holds the national record at 28 out of 30 birds. He had taken pheasants with the gun but had never shot a turkey with the traditional weapon.

A local property owner, Omer Drollinger, drove me to his well-designed cedar blind for our hunt. Up until 9 o’clock, we heard nothing -- no gobbling, no clucks, not even a peep from a turkey. We contemplated leaving the blind and changing locations but decided to stick it out.

Just five minutes later, we heard our first hen cluck out in front of the blind. We clucked and purred at her religiously, but she refused to come into the field from the woods line in front of us. Finally, I decided to get righteous with her, using my Gerald Howard box call, which I like to call the Arkansas Hammer. She responded immediately to the box and started our way. I had her torn up.

She walked all the way around the blind trying to locate the source of the high-pitched yelping. I let her go on out of the field and into the woods behind us before calling her back a second time. She left again, and Drollinger told me to hit the box call again. On her third return to the field, she had four jake suitors behind her. Drollinger peeped over the edge of the blind as the four young want-a-bes followed her path toward the blind.

Drollinger said they’re all jakes if you want to take one. I was already cocking the hammer on the flintlock. By the time I was able to raise the long gun over the top of the blind, they were closing fast -- too fast. When I settled the barrel down on the third bird, they were at a too-close range of 15 yards. All I could think about was slapping the trigger with my finger and not flinching. There was no flinch, and those last five yards were the last steps of the biggest jake. He flopped on the ground as the smoke from the barrel and flash pan cleared. Two of the jakes tore off to the left, but the fourth one turned back in the direction from which they all came.

That was a big mistake, because when he turned to look back, Drollinger already had his Mossberg 835, fitted with a scope, trained on him and dropped him at 45 yards -- a clean double.

Back at camp, the NMLRA folks rewarded me with more than a kill; they presented me with an Official Longhunter Pin and welcomed me into their fraternity -- a grand honor. Best of all, I came away from the hunt as a legitimate “longhunter” and a far greater knowledge and appreciation of blackpowder and long guns than I could ever imagined.

If you’re truly interested in becoming a member of the NMLRA or just want to learn more about the organization, you can check it out at their fine Web site at www.nmlra.org

If nothing else, you now have the tools laid out before you to plan your 2008 spring and fall turkey hunts. It should be another record year for Tennessee turkey hunters -- enjoy.

Find more about Tennessee fishing and hunting at: TennesseeSportsmanMag.com